Systems and methods for cooling gasification products

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of gasification cooling systems provided herein may include a housing, an annular wall, and one or more tangential fluid jets circumferentially disposed about the annular wall. The housing includes an inlet, an outlet, and a fluid passage disposed between the inlet and the outlet. The annular wall is disposed about the fluid passage, and a fluid stream is configured to flow in a flow direction from the inlet toward the outlet. The one or more tangential fluid jets are adapted to inject fluid into the fluid passage to annularly circulate the fluid stream throughout the fluid passage as the fluid stream flows in the flow direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to gasification coolingsystems, such as radiant syngas coolers, which cool gas from a gasifier.

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants are capableof generating energy from various hydrocarbon feedstock, such as coal,relatively cleanly and efficiently. IGCC technology may convert thehydrocarbon feedstock into a gas mixture including carbon monoxide (CO)and hydrogen (H₂), e.g., syngas, by reaction with steam in a gasifier.These gases may be cooled, cleaned, and utilized as fuel in aconventional combined cycle power plant. For example, a radiant syngascooler (RSC) may receive and cool the syngas upstream from a water gasshift reactor and/or other gas cleaning units. To that end, RSCstypically include heat exchanger tubing that exchanges heat with thesyngas to generate a cooled syngas as the syngas flows through the RSC.The heat exchanger materials may be disposed in various locations withinthe RSC, such as within its interior as well as within a circumferentialwall of the RSC vessel. Unfortunately, many current RSC designs unevenlydistribute the heated syngas flow amongst these heat exchangermaterials, giving rise to inefficiencies in the syngas cooling process.These process inefficiencies may complicate the RSC design necessary toachieve optimal syngas cooling via heat exchange in the RSC.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a gasification cooling system includes a housinghaving an inlet, an outlet, and a fluid passage disposed between theinlet and the outlet. The gasification cooling system also includes anannular wall disposed about the fluid passage, and a fluid stream isadapted to flow in a flow direction from the inlet toward the outlet.The gasification cooling system further includes one or more tangentialfluid jets circumferentially disposed about the annular wall of thefluid passage and adapted to inject fluid into the fluid passage toannularly circulate the fluid stream throughout the fluid passage as thefluid stream flows in the flow direction.

In another embodiment, a gasification cooling system includes a housinghaving a fluid passage extending in a flow direction lengthwise alongthe housing. The gasification cooling system also includes an annularwall disposed about the fluid passage and including a membrane adaptedto cool a syngas in the fluid passage as the syngas flows in the flowdirection. The gasification cooling system further includes a pluralityof fluid jets disposed about the annular wall and adapted to injectfluid into the fluid passage to direct the syngas in a circumferentialdirection toward the membrane as the syngas flows in the flow direction.

In another embodiment, a system includes a gasification cooling deviceincluding a housing having an inlet, an outlet, and a fluid passagedisposed between the inlet and the outlet. A fluid stream is adapted toflow in a flow direction from the inlet toward the outlet to contactheat exchanger tubing adapted to cool the fluid stream. A tangentialfluid jet is coupled to the housing of the gasification cooling deviceand is adapted to inject a fluid into the fluid passage to circulate thefluid stream in a circumferential direction as the fluid stream flows inthe flow direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an integrated gasificationcombined cycle (IGCC) power plant including a radiant syngas cooler(RSC);

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of the RSC ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a gasification coolingsystem having a tangential fluid jet;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the RSC of FIG. 2, illustrating anembodiment of a gasification cooling system as shown within line 4-4 ofFIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a method of controlling the fluid jets of the RSC ofFIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As described in detail below, provided herein are embodiments ofgasification cooling systems that include one or more fluid jets capableof annularly circulating a fluid stream as the stream flows in adownstream direction from an inlet toward an outlet of the system. Invarious embodiments, these fluid jets may be positioned in a variety ofsuitable locations within a gasification cooling system, such as in acircumferential arrangement disposed about an annular wall of agasification vessel. Additionally, in these embodiments, the fluid jetsmay be placed in any lengthwise location along the annular wall, such asupstream of heat exchanger tubing. When appropriately positioned withinthe gasification cooling system, the one or more fluid jets tangentiallyinject fluid into the gasification vessel, thus circulating the hotfluid stream (e.g., syngas) that is flowing substantially lengthwisethrough the vessel. The foregoing feature may enable the dispersion ofthe fluid stream throughout the volume of the gasification vessel, suchas toward a perimeter of the vessel having a membrane suitable for heattransfer from the fluid stream. Additionally, the inclusion of the fluidjets in the gasification cooling system may increase circulation of thefluid stream about the heat exchanger tubing disposed in a fluid passageof the vessel thereby enabling efficient heat transfer between the fluidstream and a coolant running through the heat exchanger tubing. Stillfurther, by altering the flow rate of the fluid stream traveling throughthe fluid passage and/or the temperature of the injected fluid, theoperability of the gasification cooling system may be more preciselycontrolled as compared to typical non-jet cooling systems.

It should be noted that the fluid jets may be disposed in a variety ofsystems and devices, such as those found in industrial equipment, powerplants, or other applications. In the embodiments described herein, theforegoing features are located in an annular wall of a radiant syngascooler (RSC) configured to cool syngas originating from a gasifier in anintegrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant. However, inother embodiments, the fluid jets may be located in any suitable regionof various gasification cooling systems that are designed to cool anytype of fluid stream. As such, the features of the illustrated RSC maybe subject to considerable variations in size, shape, and placementbased on factors such as the type of gasifier used in the overallprocess, the fuel source utilized, and so forth. Accordingly, featuresof the fluid jets may have configurations other than those illustratedthat are within the scope of the disclosed jets.

Still further, embodiments of a control system that utilizes feedbackregarding the desired cooling process parameters are provided to controlthe cooling of the fluid stream in a spatially effective manner. Inother words, embodiments of the disclosed control systems control one ormore parameters of the fluid jets to affect the cooling process in a waythat is spatially variable to improve cooling efficiency. For example,in certain embodiments, the control system may independently adjust aforcing frequency, a flow rate, or both, of one or more fluid jets in aplurality of fluid jets directed into the cooling vessel. These fluidjets may include syngas jets, air jets, carbon dioxide jets, oxygenjets, nitrogen jets, or a combination thereof. The independent controlof these fluid jets selectively enables a uniform or non-uniformdistribution of forcing frequencies, flow rates, or both, among theplurality of fluid jets in some embodiments. In this manner, thedisclosed control systems may be responsive to variations in the coolingprocess, inputs received from a user, and so forth, for example, byresponding with spatial variations in inputs affecting the coolingprocess. In other words, the spatial variations in inputs may beprovided merely with a change in the forcing frequency of one or morefluid jets, or the spatial variations in inputs may be provided bychanging the forcing frequency, flow rate, or both, among the pluralityof fluid jets (i.e., a non-uniform distribution among jets). However, inmany embodiments, only a single fluid jet may be employed, and thecontrol system may be configured to control parameters of the singlefluid jet to increase the efficiency of the heat transfer from the fluidstream.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of anintegrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) system 100 that may bepowered by synthetic gas, i.e., syngas. Elements of the IGCC system 100may include a fuel source 102, such as a solid feed, that may beutilized as a source of energy for the IGCC. The fuel source 102 mayinclude coal, petroleum coke, biomass, wood-based materials,agricultural wastes, tars, coke oven gas and asphalt, or other carboncontaining items.

The solid fuel of the fuel source 102 may be passed to a feedstockpreparation unit 104. The feedstock preparation unit 104 may, forexample, resize or reshape the fuel source 102 by chopping, milling,shredding, pulverizing, briquetting, or palletizing the fuel source 102to generate feedstock. Additionally, water, or other suitable liquidsmay be added to the fuel source 102 in the feedstock preparation unit104 to create slurry feedstock. In other embodiments, no liquid is addedto the fuel source, thus yielding dry feedstock.

The feedstock may be passed to a gasifier 106 from the feedstockpreparation unit 104. The gasifier 106 may convert the feedstock into asyngas, e.g., a combination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Thisconversion may be accomplished by subjecting the feedstock to acontrolled amount of steam and oxygen at elevated pressures, e.g., fromapproximately 20 bar to 85 bar, and temperatures, e.g., approximately700 degrees Celsius-1600 degrees Celsius, depending on the type ofgasifier 106 utilized. The gasification process may include thefeedstock undergoing a pyrolysis process, whereby the feedstock isheated. Temperatures inside the gasifier 106 may range fromapproximately 150 degrees Celsius to 700 degrees Celsius during thepyrolysis process, depending on the fuel source 102 utilized to generatethe feedstock. The heating of the feedstock during the pyrolysis processmay generate a solid, (e.g., char), and residue gases, (e.g., carbonmonoxide, hydrogen, and nitrogen). The char remaining from the feedstockfrom the pyrolysis process may weigh up to approximately 30% of theweight of the original feedstock.

A combustion process may then occur in the gasifier 106. The combustionmay include introducing oxygen to the char and residue gases. The charand residue gases may react with the oxygen to form carbon dioxide andcarbon monoxide, which provides heat for the subsequent gasificationreactions. The temperatures during the combustion process may range fromapproximately 700 degrees Celsius to 1600 degrees Celsius. Next, steammay be introduced into the gasifier 106 during a gasification step. Thechar may react with the carbon dioxide and steam to produce carbonmonoxide and hydrogen at temperatures ranging from approximately 800degrees Celsius to 1100 degrees Celsius. In essence, the gasifierutilizes steam and oxygen to allow some of the feedstock to be “burned”to produce carbon monoxide and energy, which drives a second reactionthat converts further feedstock to hydrogen and additional carbondioxide.

In this way, a resultant gas is manufactured by the gasifier 106. Thisresultant gas may include approximately 85% of carbon monoxide andhydrogen, as well as CH4, HCl, HF, COS, NH3, HCN, and H2S (based on thesulfur content of the feedstock). This resultant gas may be termed dirtysyngas, and, after leaving the gasifier 106, the dirty syngas istypically mixed with waste, such as slag 108, which may be a wet ashmaterial. The dirty syngas and the slag 108 exiting the gasifier 106 areat elevated temperatures, and, to separate and cool the syngas and slagmixture, a radiant syngas cooler (RSC) 146 is employed. The slag anddirty syngas mixture enters the RSC 146 where the slag 108 is separatedfrom the dirty syngas, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The slag 108 may thenbe removed from the gasifier 106 and disposed of, for example, as roadbase or as another building material. The dirty syngas, on the otherhand, is routed toward heat exchanger tubing of the RSC 146, and fluidflowing through the heat exchanger tubing may act to cool the dirtysyngas as it travels through the RSC 146. Accordingly, the fluid flowingthrough the tubing of the RSC 146 may be at a significantly lowertemperature than the dirty syngas flowing through the RSC.

Embodiments of the radiant syngas coolers disclosed herein may includeone or more features, such as one or more tangential fluid jets, thatcirculate the dirty syngas within the RSC 146 for cooling, for example,by directing the heated syngas toward the exchanger tubing and/or amembrane disposed about the perimeter of the RSC 146. Further, the RSC146 may also include a control system that is capable of controlling aflow rate and/or a forcing frequency of the fluid injected via the oneor more jets to increase or maximize the cooling capacity of the RSC146. These and other features of certain embodiments of the presentinvention are discussed in more detail below with respect to the RSCshown in FIGS. 2-4. However, it should be noted that these features maybe included in any gasification cooling system and are not limited toradiant syngas coolers.

After the dirty syngas is cooled and separated from the slag 108, a gascleaning unit 110 may be utilized to clean the dirty syngas. The gascleaning unit 110 may scrub the dirty syngas to remove the HCl, HF, COS,HCN, and H2S from the dirty syngas, which may include separation ofsulfur 111 in a sulfur processor 112 by, for example, an acid gasremoval process in the sulfur processor 112. Furthermore, the gascleaning unit 110 may separate salts 113 from the dirty syngas via awater treatment unit 114 that may utilize water purification techniquesto generate usable salts 113 from the dirty syngas. Subsequently, thegas from the gas cleaning unit 110 may include clean syngas.

If desired, a gas processor 116 may be utilized to remove residual gascomponents 117 from the clean syngas. However, removal of residual gascomponents 117 from the clean syngas is optional, since the clean syngasmay be utilized as a fuel even when containing the residual gascomponents 117, e.g., tail gas. At this point, the clean syngas mayinclude approximately 1-10% CO (e.g., 3% CO), approximately 30-60% H2(e.g., 55% H2), and approximately 30-60% CO2 (e.g., 40% CO2) and issubstantially stripped of H2S. This clean syngas may be transmitted to acombustor 120, e.g., a combustion chamber, of a gas turbine engine 118as combustible fuel.

The IGCC system 100 may further include an air separation unit (ASU)122. The ASU 122 may operate to separate air into component gases by,for example, distillation techniques. The ASU 122 may separate oxygenfrom the air supplied to it from a supplemental air compressor 123, andthe ASU 122 may transfer the separated oxygen to the gasifier 106.Additionally the ASU 122 may transmit separated nitrogen to a diluentnitrogen (DGAN) compressor 124.

The DGAN compressor 124 may compress the nitrogen received from the ASU122 at least to pressure levels equal to those in the combustor 120, soas not to interfere with the proper combustion of the syngas. Thus, oncethe DGAN compressor 124 has adequately compressed the nitrogen to aproper level, the DGAN compressor 124 may transmit the compressednitrogen to the combustor 120 of the gas turbine engine 118.

The compressed nitrogen may be transmitted from the DGAN compressor 124to the combustor 120 of the gas turbine engine 118. The gas turbineengine 118 may include a turbine 130, a drive shaft 131 and a compressor132, as well as the combustor 120. The combustor 120 may receive fuel,such as syngas, which may be injected under pressure from fuel nozzles.This fuel may be mixed with compressed air as well as compressednitrogen from the DGAN compressor 124, and combusted within combustor120. This combustion may create hot pressurized exhaust gases.

The combustor 120 may direct the exhaust gases towards an exhaust outletof the turbine 130. As the exhaust gases from the combustor 120 passthrough the turbine 130, the exhaust gases may force turbine blades inthe turbine 130 to rotate the drive shaft 131 along an axis of the gasturbine engine 118. As illustrated, the drive shaft 131 is connected tovarious components of the gas turbine engine 118, including thecompressor 132.

The drive shaft 131 may connect the turbine 130 to the compressor 132 toform a rotor. The compressor 132 may include blades coupled to the driveshaft 131. Thus, rotation of turbine blades in the turbine 130 may causethe drive shaft 131 connecting the turbine 130 to the compressor 132 torotate blades within the compressor 132. This rotation of blades in thecompressor 132 causes the compressor 132 to compress air received via anair intake in the compressor 132. The compressed air may then be fed tothe combustor 120 and mixed with fuel and compressed nitrogen to allowfor higher efficiency combustion. Drive shaft 131 may also be connectedto load 134, which may be a stationary load, such as an electricalgenerator for producing electrical power, for example, in a power plant.Indeed, load 134 may be any suitable device that is powered by therotational output of the gas turbine engine 118.

The IGCC system 100 also may include a steam turbine engine 136 and aheat recovery steam generation (HRSG) system 138. Heated exhaust gasfrom the gas turbine engine 118 may be transported into the HRSG 138 andused to heat water and produce steam used to power the steam turbineengine 136. The steam turbine engine 136 may drive a second load 140.The second load 140 may also be an electrical generator for generatingelectrical power. However, both the first and second loads 134, 140 maybe other types of loads capable of being driven by the gas turbineengine 118 and steam turbine engine 136. In addition, although the gasturbine engine 118 and steam turbine engine 136 may drive separate loads134 and 140, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, the gas turbineengine 118 and steam turbine engine 136 may also be utilized in tandemto drive a single load via a single shaft. The specific configuration ofthe steam turbine engine 136, as well as the gas turbine engine 118, maybe implementation-specific and may include any combination of sections.

Exhaust from, for example, a low-pressure section of the steam turbineengine 136 may be directed into a condenser 142. The condenser 142 mayutilize a cooling tower 128 to exchange heated water for chilled water.The cooling tower 128 acts to provide cool water to the condenser 142 toaid in condensing the steam transmitted to the condenser 142 from thesteam turbine engine 136. Condensate from the condenser 142 may, inturn, be directed into the HRSG 138. Again, exhaust from the gas turbineengine 118 may also be directed into the HRSG 138 to heat the water fromthe condenser 142 and produce steam.

In combined cycle systems such as IGCC system 100, hot exhaust may flowfrom the gas turbine engine 118 and pass to the HRSG 138, where it maybe used to generate high-pressure, high-temperature steam. The steamproduced by the HRSG 138 may then be passed through the steam turbineengine 136 for power generation. In addition, the produced steam mayalso be supplied to any other processes where steam may be used, such asto the gasifier 106. The gas turbine engine 118 generation cycle isoften referred to as the “topping cycle,” whereas the steam turbineengine 136 generation cycle is often referred to as the “bottomingcycle.” By combining these two cycles as illustrated in FIG. 1, the IGCCsystem 100 may lead to greater efficiencies in both cycles. Inparticular, exhaust heat from the topping cycle may be captured and usedto generate steam for use in the bottoming cycle.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of the radiantsyngas cooler 146 utilized in the IGCC system 100 of FIG. 1. The RSC 146has an axial axis 125, a radial axis 126, and a circumferential axis127. The RSC 146 may include a vessel 148, which may be made of asuitable material, such as ASTM SA387, grade 11, class 2. The vessel 148functions as a housing or outer casing for the RSC 146, enclosing bothan upper region 147 of the RSC 146 as well as a lower region 149 of theRSC 146. The upper region 147 of the RSC 146 may include a dome-shapedportion 150 that includes an inlet 152 extending into a throat 153. Thelower region 149 includes an outlet 154. An interior region 156 isdefined by the space between the inlet 152 and the outlet 154. Thethroat 153, which is adjacent the inlet 152, expands in a downstreamdirection 155 from the inlet 152 toward the outlet 154.

The illustrated vessel 148 also includes heat exchanger tubing 158,which may be in the upper region 147 of the RSC 146. The tubing 158 mayinclude a plurality of conduits disposed along the radial axis 126 ofthe RSC 146 and running parallel in direction with the vessel 148relative to the axial axis 125. Chilled liquid, such as water, may flowthrough the tubing 158. Thus, during use, the tubing 158 may act as aheat exchanger within the RSC 146, and may circulate the coolant to anexternal heat exchanger for removal of heat. That is, a chilled liquidmay be circulated through the tubing 158 and heated up as the hot syngascontacts the outer surfaces of the heat exchanger tubing 158. As such,the liquid flowing through the heat exchanger tubing 158 may enter thetubing at a lower temperature than the liquid leaving the tubing 158.Accordingly, the tubing 158 may be made of a thermally resistantmaterial suitable for use with hot syngas.

Further, the vessel 148 also includes a membrane 159 disposed about aperimeter of the RSC 146 that defines an outer wall of the vessel 148.In some embodiments, the membrane 159 may be formed from a materialcapable of operating as a heat exchanger for removal of heat from afluid in contact with the membrane 159. That is, in certain embodiments,both the heat exchanger tubing 158 and the membrane 159 may operate tocool a liquid (e.g., syngas) flowing through the RSC 146. To that end,one or more tangential fluid jets, as represented by arrows 161, arecircumferentially disposed about the annular wall of the vessel 148 toinject fluid into the RSC 146. Once injected, the circularly directedfluid may interact with a hot fluid stream flowing in a substantiallydownward direction from the inlet 152 toward the outlet 154 to annularlycirculate the hot fluid stream. As such, the one or more tangentialfluid jets 161 may facilitate efficient cooling of the hot fluid streamby distributing the hot fluid stream both amongst the tubes of the heatexchanger tubing 158 as well as toward the perimeter membrane 159 of thevessel 148.

For example, in the illustrated embodiment, during operation of the RSC146, the syngas generated in the gasifier 106 enters the RSC 146 as amixture of syngas and slag (i.e., a hot fluid stream). The slag 108 andthe syngas are substantially separated in the throat region 153 of theRSC 146 and, after separation, follow distinct flow paths through theremainder of the length of the RSC 146. The syngas, after beingseparated from the slag flow stream, generally flows in a downwardmanner parallel to the tubing 158, as indicated by arrows 160. That is,the syngas flows through a gas passage of the RSC 146 that extends inthe flow direction 160 lengthwise along the vessel 148. As the syngasflows in direction 160 through the gas passage, the fluid jets 161inject fluid that circulates the syngas about the fluid passage, thusdirecting the syngas toward the membrane 159 of the vessel 148.Accordingly, the syngas enters the RSC 146 through the inlet 152 in amixture with the slag, separates from the slag, is annularly circulatedabout the fluid passage, flows lengthwise through the interior region156 of the RSC 146, and then exits the RSC 146 through the outlet 154.In this manner, the syngas may come in contact with the heat exchangertubing 158 and the perimeter membrane 159 of the RSC 146, and the tubing158 as well as the membrane 159 may act to cool the syngas as it travelsthrough the RSC 146. One result of this cooling process may be thegeneration of steam in the tubing 158, which may, for example, betransmitted to the high pressure drum 145 (see FIG. 1) for collectionand transmission to the heat recovery steam generator 138.

The RSC 146 may also include a conduit 162 in the lower region 149 ofthe RSC 146 that may aid in directing the cooled syngas and separatedslag out of the RSC 146. For example, as the slag 108 exits the conduit162, the slag 108 may flow in a generally downward direction 164 to exitthe RSC 146 via a quench cone 166. In contrast, the cooled syngas mayflow in a general upward direction 168 towards a transfer line 170 asthe syngas exits the conduit 162. The transfer line 170 may be used totransmit the syngas to the gas cleaning unit 110 and/or the gas turbineengine 118 (see FIG. 1). The raw syngas may corrode elements of the RSC146, such as the tubing 158 and/or the inner wall of the vessel 148, ifthese elements were to come into contact with the syngas. Accordingly,in certain embodiments, a gas inlet 172 may transmit a non-corrosivefluid, such as a shielding gas 180 (e.g., nitrogen), to the RSC 146.This non-corrosive fluid may flow generally downward between the vessel148 and the tubing 158 of RSC 146 to form a protective barrier, forexample, against syngas migration into the annular space between thetubes 158 and the vessel 148.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a gasification cooling system illustratingoperation and control of tangentially disposed fluid jets in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. As before, thegasification cooling system includes the RSC 146 having the inlet 152,through which syngas 182 enters a chamber 184 of the RSC 146, and theoutlet 154, through which cooled syngas 186 exits the RSC 146. That is,the RSC 146 is operated to decrease the temperature of the syngas 182 inthe manner described above such that the syngas 186 exiting the RSC 146is at a substantially lowered temperature as compared to the syngas 182entering the RSC 146. To increase the efficiency of this coolingprocess, a fluid jet 188 is provided to tangentially inject a fluid,such as carbon dioxide, air, oxygen, nitrogen, and/or additional syngas,into the chamber 184, thus circulating the syngas 182 about the volumeof the chamber 184.

Although a single fluid jet 188 is illustrated in the embodiment of FIG.3, in other embodiments, the jet 188 may represent a single jet or aplurality of jets distributed about the RSC 146. For example, in oneembodiment, a plurality of fluid jets may be disposed annularly aboutthe circumference of the RSC 146 at one location along the length of theRSC 146. In other embodiments, fluid jets may be disposed at multiplelocations along the length of the RSC 146. Indeed, any of a variety offluid jet arrangements distributed with uniform or non-uniform spacingbetween adjacent jets may be employed in accordance with disclosedembodiments. For example, the fluid jets may be spaced closer togetherin certain areas while being spaced farther apart in other areas.Nevertheless, each fluid jet in the plurality of fluid jets is capableof tangentially injecting a fluid at the particular spatial locationwhere the jet is located to circulate the syngas flowing through thechamber 184.

Turning now to the operation and control of the fluid jet 188 in theillustrated embodiment, a control system 190 is provided to control theinjection of fluid from the fluid jet 188 into the chamber 184 of theRSC 146. For example, the control system 190 may be configured tocontrol jet parameters such as forcing frequency, fluid composition,temperature, jet distribution, and so forth, to exhibit control over thecooling process based on the given application. For example, in someembodiments, the control system 190 may receive inputs from an operatorregarding operational parameters, such as the type of fuel beingutilized to generate the syngas, the syngas flow rate, and so forth, andmay utilize these inputs to determine appropriate jet parameters.Further, in some embodiments, the control system 190 may receivefeedback regarding the cooling performance of the system from one ormore sensors disposed within the gasification cooling system. Forexample, in one embodiment, temperature sensors may be disposed in agrid within the RSC 146 and/or at the outlet of the RSC 146, and, basedon feedback from the temperature sensors, the control system 190 mayadjust parameters of the fluid jet 188 until the received feedback fallswithin a desired tolerance interval.

To that end, the control system 190 may include suitable electricalcircuitry, for example, volatile or non-volatile memory, such as readonly memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic storage memory,optical storage memory, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, a varietyof control parameters may be stored in the memory along with codeconfigured to provide a specific output. For instance, the controlsystem 190 may be programmed to acquire and time stamp received data,such as temperature sensor data, at a first frequency and output controldata to the fluid jet 188 at a second frequency. As appreciated, thefirst and second frequencies may be the same or different from oneanother, and may vary depending on the application and specific designconsiderations. However, any suitable frequencies may be used for thefirst and second frequencies or the data may be transmitted in any othersuitable manner. Still further, in some embodiments, the control system190 may only store data from the most recent sensor measurements oroperator inputs (e.g., data may only be stored for the prior 30minutes), thus eliminating historical data from its memory as morerecent sensor data or operational inputs become available. In suchembodiments, the control system 190 may be configured to accesshistorical data stored in the memory as necessary. In other embodiments,the control system 190 may retain all or a larger amount of historicaldata as a baseline for controlling the gasification cooling system ormay access stored programs to guide jet operation.

In the illustrated embodiment, to exhibit the desired control over thesyngas cooling process, the control system 190 is coupled to a flowcontroller 192 (e.g., a valve) and a forcing frequency drive 194 (e.g.,acoustic speaker 198, amplifier 200, and signal generator 202) tocontrol the flow and forcing frequency associated with a fluid 196 beinginjected into the chamber 184 of the RSC 146. During operation, thefluid jet 188 (or set of fluid jets) receives the fluid 196 flowingalong an airflow path having the flow controller 192 and the forcingfrequency drive 194. Concurrently, the control system 190 controlsoperational characteristics of the fluid jet 188 (or set of fluid jets)to vary the fluid flow rate and/or the forcing frequency of the fluidjet in a uniform manner or non-uniform manner depending on the givenapplication. For example, in embodiments in which multiple fluid jetsare provided, the control system 190 may independently control eachindividual jet to substantially improve the distribution of the syngas182 within the chamber 184, thereby providing a more uniformdistribution of the hot syngas between the heat exchanger tubing and themembrane of the vessel walls for improved syngas cooling. For example,the independent control of the flow rate and forcing frequency ofindividual jets of a plurality of jets may substantially reduce pocketsof undesirably high temperature syngas by more uniformly cooling thesyngas through the use of the heat exchanger tubing and the vesselmembrane. Thus, by providing and controlling one or more fluid jets ofthe gasification system, disclosed embodiments may modify the coolingprocess in the RSC 146 to more fully utilize the cooling capacity of theRSC 146.

More specifically, as further illustrated in the forcing frequency drive194 of FIG. 3, an embodiment of the forcing frequency drive 194 mayinclude the signal generator 202, the amplifier 200, and the acoustichorn 198 or speaker. The signal generator 202 is configured to generatea periodic waveform signal having a period or frequency, which isvariable in response to control by the control system 190. The amplifier200 is configured to adjust the amplitude of the periodic waveformsignal, e.g., increase or decrease the amplitude, in response to controlby the control system 190. The horn 198 is configured to output theperiodic waveform signal at the desired amplitude to create a sound wavecapable of acoustically forcing the expelled fluid flow to change shape,size, or mixing characteristics. In particular, the sound wave mayinduce the formation of large scale structures (e.g., vortices)downstream of the jet 188, thereby improving the spatial distributionand impact of the fluid jet on the syngas.

In other embodiments, the forcing frequency drive 194 may include othernon-illustrated components that force the expelled fluid flow to changeshape, size, or mixing characteristics. For example, the forcingfrequency drive 194 may include any components that are configured tovibrate or modulate fluid flow at a desired frequency of change. Forinstance, in one embodiment, vibrating valves may be used to vibrate thefluid flow at a desired frequency. In another embodiment, the pressureof the fluid flow may be pulsed at a desired frequency. In suchembodiments, the forcing frequency drive 194 may include valves,pulsation mechanisms, vibration mechanisms, and/or modulation mechanismsconfigured to change the acoustic properties of the fluid flow.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the RSC 146 taken along line 4-4 ofFIG. 2, illustrating operation of an arrangement of a plurality oftangential fluid jets 204, 206, 208, and 210 disposed about the membrane159 of an embodiment of a gasification cooling system. As illustrated,each fuel jet 204, 206, 208, and 210 is coupled to a respective forcingfrequency drive 212, 214, 216, and 218 and a respective flow controller220, 222, 224, and 226, all of which are adjustable via independentcontrol signals from the control system 190, as generally discussedabove. In the illustrated plane, the gasification cooling systemincludes four fuel jets 204, 206, 208, and 210 disposed about themembrane 159 of the vessel. However, any suitable number or arrangementof fluid jets may be employed in other embodiments of gasificationcooling systems.

During operation, the control system 190 independently or uniformlycontrols the fluid jets 204, 206, 208, and 210. Again, the independentor uniform control may include variations in the forcing frequency,forcing amplitude, and flow rate of one or more of the fluid jets,thereby changing the spatial impact of the fluid jets on the coolingprocess. In particular, the control system 190 may adjust the forcingfrequency, amplitude, and flow rate of each fluid jet to change theshape, size, penetration, and mixing characteristics of the injectedfluid to affect the cooling of the syngas flowing through the RSC 146.Thus, by virtue of the independent control that may be exhibited in someembodiments, the control system 190 is able to adjust the spatialdistribution of fluid jet characteristics (e.g., flow rate, frequency,and amplitude) among the plurality of jets 204, 206, 208, and 210 toeffectuate efficient syngas cooling by utilizing the cooling capacity ofboth the heat exchanger tubing 158 and the membrane 159 of the RSC 146.

More specifically, during operation, the fluid jet 204 injects fluidinto the chamber 184, for example, in a substantially circular mannerindicated by arrows 228, to annularly circulate the syngas throughoutthe chamber 184. Likewise, the jets 206, 208, and 210, alsocircumferentially inject fluid into the chamber 184, as indicated byarrows 230, 232, and 234, respectively, to direct the syngas in acircular direction to both guide the syngas toward the membrane 159 anddisperse the syngas about the surfaces of the heat exchanger tubes 158.The foregoing features of disclosed embodiments may enable efficientheat transfer between the syngas and the heat exchanger materials of theRSC 146. Still further, such control and operation alters the flow rateof the syngas traveling through the fluid passage, thus enabling theoperability of the gasification cooling system to be more preciselycontrolled as compared to typical non-jet cooling systems.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 236 of controlling the fluid jets of the RSCof FIG. 2 in accordance with a presently disclosed embodiment. Themethod 236 includes identifying an operational mode of the radiantsyngas cooler (block 238) and identifying operational parameters for thecooling operation (block 240). For example, the control system mayidentify that a particular type of fuel is being utilized to generatethe syngas received from the gasifier and, subsequently, identify apredefined control scheme associated with the given fuel type. Based onthe identified mode and/or parameters, one or more of fluid composition,flow rate, forcing frequency, temperature, or jet distribution isadjusted (block 242). For example, if the flow rate of the syngas fromthe gasifier is elevated, the control system may increase the flow rateof the incoming fluid to effectively circulate the hot syngas.

Still further, the method 236 includes monitoring the operational modeand parameters throughout the cooling operation (block 244) andmodifying the fluid composition, flow rate, forcing frequency,temperature, and/or jet distribution based on this monitoring process(block 246). In this way, the control system may adapt the operation ofthe fluid jets throughout the cooling operation to cool the hot syngasin an efficient manner. It should be noted that in some embodiments,operation of the control system may be limited to blocks 242, 244, and246 of the illustrated method, for example, in instances in which thecontrol system is preloaded with a desired default start setting.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

1. A gasification cooling system, comprising: a housing having an inlet,an outlet, and a fluid passage disposed between the inlet and theoutlet; an annular wall disposed about the fluid passage, wherein afluid stream is configured to flow in a flow direction from the inlettoward the outlet; and one or more tangential fluid jetscircumferentially disposed about the annular wall of the fluid passageand configured to inject fluid into the fluid passage to annularlycirculate the fluid stream throughout the fluid passage as the fluidstream flows in the flow direction.
 2. The gasification cooling systemof claim 1, comprising one or more forcing frequency drives, whereineach forcing frequency drive is coupled to a fluid path associated withone of the one or more tangential fluid jets and is configured to adjusta forcing frequency of the associated fluid jet.
 3. The gasificationcooling system of claim 2, wherein the forcing frequency drive comprisesa signal generator, an amplifier, and an acoustic horn.
 3. (canceled) 4.The gasification cooling system of claim 1, wherein the fluid injectedvia the one or more tangential fluid jets comprises carbon dioxide, air,oxygen, nitrogen, a product gas produced via a gasification process, ora combination thereof.
 5. The gasification cooling system of claim 1,comprising a control system configured to adjust a forcing frequency,fluid composition, temperature, jet distribution, or a combinationthereof of the one or more fluid jets in response to received feedback.6. The gasification cooling system of claim 5, wherein the receivedfeedback comprises an operational mode of the gasification coolingsystem, an operational parameter of the cooling system, or a combinationthereof
 7. The gasification cooling system of claim 1, wherein the fluidstream comprises a syngas received from a gasifier.
 8. The gasificationcooling system of claim 1, comprising heat exchanger tubing disposeddownstream of the inlet in the flow direction inside of the housing. 9.A gasification cooling system, comprising: a housing comprising a fluidpassage extending in a flow direction lengthwise along the housing; anannular wall disposed about the fluid passage and comprising a membraneconfigured to cool a syngas in the fluid passage as the syngas flows inthe flow direction; and a plurality of fluid jets disposed about theannular wall and configured to inject fluid into the fluid passage todirect the syngas in a circumferential direction toward the membrane asthe syngas flows in the flow direction.
 10. The gasification coolingsystem of claim 9, comprising a plurality of heat exchanger tubesdisposed throughout the fluid passage and configured to cool the syngasin the gas passage as the syngas flows in the flow direction.
 11. Thegasification cooling system of claim 9, comprising a control systemconfigured to adjust a forcing frequency of at least one fluid jet inthe plurality of fluid jets in response to feedback regarding anoperational mode of the gasification cooling system, an operationalparameter of the gasification cooling system, or a combination thereof12. The gasification cooling system of claim 9, wherein the plurality offluid jets comprises a plurality of nitrogen jets, a plurality of airjets, a plurality of syngas jets, a plurality of carbon dioxide jets, ora combination thereof, radially disposed at different positions aboutthe circumference of the housing.
 13. The gasification cooling system ofclaim 9, comprising a control system configured to adjust a distributionof a jet parameter among the plurality of fluid jets in response toreceived feedback regarding the operation of the gasification coolingprocess.
 14. The gasification cooling system of claim 13, wherein thejet parameter comprises a fluid flow rate, a forcing frequency, or acombination thereof
 15. The gasification cooling system of claim 9,comprising a plurality of drives, wherein each drive is coupled to afluid path associated with one of the plurality of fluid jets, and eachdrive is configured to drive the tangential fluid jets at a frequencythat resonates with a frequency of a jet from which the fluid streamoriginates.
 16. A system, comprising: a gasification cooling devicecomprising a housing having an inlet, an outlet, and a fluid passagedisposed between the inlet and the outlet, wherein a fluid stream isconfigured to flow in a flow direction from the inlet toward the outletto contact heat exchanger tubing configured to cool the fluid stream;and a tangential fluid jet coupled to the housing of the gasificationcooling device and configured to inject a fluid into the fluid passageto circulate the fluid stream in a circumferential direction as thefluid stream flows in the flow direction.
 17. The system of claim 16,comprising a control system configured to control a flow rate of theinjected fluid, a forcing frequency of the injected fluid, or acombination thereof
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein the fluid streamcomprises a syngas received from a gasifier.
 19. The system of claim 16,wherein the injected fluid comprises carbon dioxide, air, oxygen,nitrogen, syngas, or a combination thereof.
 20. The system of claim 16,comprising a forcing frequency drive configured to vibrate or modulatethe injected fluid.
 21. The gasification cooling system of claim 1,comprising one or more drives, wherein each drive is coupled to a fluidpath associated with one of the one or more tangential fluid jets, andeach drive is configured to drive the tangential fluid jets at afrequency that resonates with a frequency of a jet from which the fluidstream originates.